Page 25 of Map of Pain
Matoskah’s jaw tightened. Herarelydiscussed what he saw when he touched other minds—too many people tried to use his abilities for their own purposes in the past. The fact he was sharing what he saw spoke to how disturbed he’d been by contact with Nick’s mind.
“Three different people fighting for control of one body,” Matoskah saidslowly.“All of them damaged.”
“Lovely. And you think you can fix him?”she asked Luka.
The weight settled in Luka’s chest before the words fully formed. How many years had he spent trying to fix Matteo? Watching his twin waste away, refusing every offer of help, every attempt at intervention? Eighty years of failure, and now it seemed like he was choosing Nick over Matteo’s current crisis.
«I can get him somewhere safe,»Luka said. The limited goal felt achievable in a way that“fixing”didn’t.
“Safe from what? The Society? His own brain? Because one of those issignificantlyeasier than the other.”
He could always trust Ophelia to cut straight to the heart of it. The Society was a known threat—traceable, fightable. Nick’s fractured mind was another story.
«Both,» Luka admitted.
Ophelia studied him for a long moment, and Luka had the uncomfortable feeling she was reading far more than he intended to reveal. At sixteen, she’d already learned to dissect people’s motivations with surgical precision—a survival skill honed by years of being the only human in a family of vampires.
“Matoskah,”she said, not looking away from Luka.“How’s Jae?”
The question seemed random until Luka saw Matoskah’s hands stillcompletely. His friend’s pale eyes went distant, protective.“Fine,”he saidstiffly. “He’s been double sanitizing things around the house since the hunter cut him, but he’ll be back to normal in a few weeks.”
“Good.”Ophelia’s smile was all teeth.“I’d hate for anything to happen to him while everyone’s distracted by hunter drama.”
The threat was subtle but unmistakable. Luka felt ice settle in his chest. Ophelia wasn’t just evaluating his mental state—she was calculating whether his choices endangered the people she cared about.
«Two of the Society operatives are dead,»Luka said.«The third was wounded. Jae was never their target.»
“This time.”Ophelia pushed off from the van, moving closer.“But you’veessentiallygone rogue, Luka. You’ve abandoned your business, your responsibilities, your twin.”Her voice dropped.“Marcus doesn’t even know where you are.”
Matteo needed him—always needed him for decades—and here he was, choosing a broken hunter over his own family. But the thought of watching his twinslowlystarve himself for another decade made hurt twist in his chest.
«Matteo has Vincent and Petrov,»Luka said, the movement sharp with defensiveness.«Nick has no one.»
“Nick has a brother who’s been looking for him for six months,”Ophelia pointed out.“Want me to call him?”
The suggestion sent alarm spiking through Luka. Nick wasbarelyholding himself together; confronting Caleb now would shatter what little progress they made.
«No,» Luka said.
“I thought not.”Ophelia’s expression gentled—not sympathy, but awareness of a tactical consideration.“So what’s your play here? Hide himindefinitely?”
Luka’s hands moved before he’d formed the thought.«Peoria. The neutral hunters.»
Ophelia blinked, genuine surprise crossing her features for the first time since they arrived.“Haley’s people? That’sactuallynot terrible.”She paused, considering.“They won’t ask questions, and the Society won’t think to look there.”
«Will you help?»Luka asked.
The question hung between them. Ophelia’s help wasn’t givenlightly—she weighed costs and benefits with the cold precision of someone who learned early that survival meant choosing sides.
“Here’s the deal,”she saidfinally, pulling a burner phone from her jacket.“You get three days to get your hunter stable and delivered to Peoria. Three days, Luka. After that, I’m telling my dad and explaining why one of his people has gone dark.”
The ultimatum wasn’t cruelty—it was strategy. Three days gave him time to rest after the fight, make contact with the Peoria hunters, and travelsafelyunder cover of darkness. It also put a hard deadline on his self-imposed exile from family responsibilities.
«Why help at all?» Luka asked, genuinely curious.
Ophelia’s smile turned sharp.“Because watching you try to save someone who doesn’t want to be saved is getting old. At least this one mightactuallysurvive the process.”
The words stung because they carried truth. Matteo’s refusal to help himself was a chronic wound in their family, accepted but never healing. Nick’s damage was an acute trauma with identifiable sources. Fixable, maybe, with enough time and patience.
